Audio System Equalizing

ABSTRACT

Processes and devices for equalizing an audio system that is adapted to use a loudspeaker to transduce test audio signals into test sounds. The processes and devices can involve the use of infrared signals to convey information in one or both directions between the audio system and a portable computer device that captures test sounds, calculates audio parameters that can be used in the equalization process, and transmits these audio parameters back to the audio system for its use in equalizing audio signals that are played by the audio system.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to equalizing audio systems.

Audio systems use an audio signal source to generate sound from one ormore transducers/loudspeakers. In equalized systems the frequencyresponse is modified so as to provide higher quality sound in the roomor listening area in which the audio system is located. For portableaudio systems such as wireless speaker packages, the location can easilybe changed. Such systems will provide better sound if they are equalizedto their environment each time they are moved, or if the environmentchanges.

SUMMARY

All examples and features mentioned below can be combined in anytechnically possible way.

In one aspect a dongle that is adapted to be coupled to a portablecomputer device includes a microphone adapted to detect test soundsradiated by an audio system and an infrared transmitter adapted totransmit infrared signals to the audio system, where the transmittedinfrared signals convey to the audio system audio parameters that arebased on the detected test sounds.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The audio system may be a wireless speaker package.The transmitted infrared signals may also convey audio system controlsignals to the audio system. The dongle may also include a digitalconnector that is adapted to be coupled to the portable computer device.The digital connector may be a USB connector. The dongle may alsoinclude an analog connector that is configured to be coupled to theportable computer device. The analog connector may be a plug that isadapted to couple with an analog jack of the portable computer device.The audio parameters may include an equalization pattern that isappropriate to achieve a desired audio system frequency response.

In another aspect a process for equalizing a first audio system that isadapted to use a loudspeaker to transduce test audio signals into testsounds includes capturing test sounds by a remote device, calculating,based on the captured test sounds, information that can be used toachieve a desired frequency response from the first audio system,wirelessly transmitting, by an infrared transmitter that is functionallyassociated with the remote device, and as a series of infrared signals,the calculated information, receiving, by an infrared receiver that isfunctionally associated with the first audio system, the transmittedinfrared signals, translating, by the first audio system, the receivedinfrared signals into an audio system equalization pattern that isappropriate to achieve a desired frequency response from the first audiosystem, and saving, in a memory of the first audio system, the speakerpackage equalization pattern.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The information that can be used to achieve adesired frequency response from the first audio system may be calculatedby the remote device, or it may be calculated by a remote device such asa cloud-connected device. The process may also include providingfeedback concerning the transmitted infrared signals, by the audiosystem, via audio played from the loudspeaker. The infrared transmittermay be part of a dongle that is adapted to be coupled to the remotedevice. The dongle may be adapted to be coupled to the remote device viaan analog jack of the remote device. The remote device may be asmartphone or a second audio system, for example. The first and secondaudio systems may each be a wireless speaker package.

In another aspect, a method that uses a portable computer device that isadapted to communicate with an audio system, where the audio system isadapted to use one or more loudspeakers to transduce audio signals intosound, includes receiving, by a microphone associated with the portablecomputer device while the portable computer device is at a firstlocation in a listening space, sound from the audio system when theaudio system plays test audio signals, determining a time delay betweenthe audio signals and the receipt of the played test audio signals bythe microphone, determining, based on the played test audio signals, afrequency response for the first location, and transmitting to the audiosystem, based on the frequency response, audio parameters that areappropriate to achieve a desired acoustic profile from the one or moreloudspeakers of the audio system.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The audio parameters may be calculated by theportable computer device, or the audio parameters may be calculated by aremote computing device and then transmitted to the portable computerdevice. The information that is based on the frequency response mayinclude one or more audio parameters that are calculated using thedetermined time delay. Determining a time delay may include correlatingthe test audio signals and microphone signals. The transmission to theaudio system by the portable computer device may be wireless, and mayuse infrared signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic block diagram of an audio system and a portablecomputer device that together can be used to equalize the audio system.

FIG. 2 is schematic block diagram of another audio system and a smartphone with associated dongle that together can be used to equalize theaudio system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An audio system can play higher quality sound if it is equalized to itssurroundings. For portable audio systems such as wireless speakerpackages, the location can easily be changed. Such systems will providebetter sound if they are equalized to their environment each time theyare moved, or if the environment changes.

Audio system equalization is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,483,540, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The subjectpatent discloses equalizing an audio system using a portable computerdevice that is moved to one or more locations in the room. Test soundsradiated by the audio system are received by the portable computerdevice. An equalization pattern is calculated by the portable computingdevice from an average room response from the various positionresponses. The equalization pattern is downloaded to the audio system,which then applies it to the audio signals that are transduced to soundwaves.

In the present disclosure, elements of figures are shown and describedas discrete elements in a block diagram. These may be implemented as oneor more of analog circuitry or digital circuitry. Alternatively, oradditionally, they may be implemented with one or more microprocessorsexecuting software instructions. The software instructions can includedigital signal processing instructions. Operations may be performed byanalog circuitry or by a microprocessor executing software that performsthe equivalent of the analog operation. Signal lines may be implementedas discrete analog or digital signal lines, as a discrete digital signalline with appropriate signal processing that is able to process separatesignals, and/or as elements of a wireless communication system.

When processes are represented or implied in the block diagrams, thesteps may be performed by one element or a plurality of elements. Thesteps may be performed together or at different times. The elements thatperform the activities may be physically the same or proximate oneanother, or may be physically separate. One element may perform theactions of more than one block. Audio signals may be encoded or not, andmay be transmitted in either digital or analog form. Conventional audiosignal processing equipment and operations are in some cases omittedfrom the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a non-limiting example of an audio system 60 and aportable computer device 62 that can be used in the present disclosure.Audio system 60 has audio signal source 10, audio signal processingcircuitry 12, and one or more loudspeakers 14. Audio system 60 alsoincludes controller 72 and transceiver 70 that is adapted for bilateralwireless communication with portable computer device 62. In onenon-limiting example audio system 60 is a stand-alone, portable wirelessspeaker package such as the Bose® SoundLink®, available from BoseCorporation, Framingham, Mass. A portable wireless speaker package canuse various audio signal sources: for example it can receive audiosignals from portable computer device 62 or from an internet radiostation, as just two non-limiting examples.

In this non-limiting example, portable computer device 62 has microphone16, acoustic measuring circuitry 19, controller 26, and equalizationcalculation circuitry 18. Portable computer device 62 also includestransceiver 74 that accomplishes the communication to and from audiosystem 60, as depicted by dashed line 90. In one non-limiting exampleportable computer device 62 is a smartphone with an appropriate softwareapplication that is able to command the smartphone to achieve the remotedevice functionality described herein. One non-limiting example of asmartphone that can be used is the iPhone®, available from Apple Inc.,Cupertino, Calif. Many smartphones have a built-in microphone that canbe used as microphone 16. If not, a separate microphone can be used andproperly coupled to device 62, e.g., via an analog or digital connector.Many smartphones also have processing capability that can be used toaccomplish circuitry 19, controller 26, and circuitry 18. If device 62is used to control or communicate with system 60 in other fashions(e.g., if device 62 separately operates as a remote control for system60, or if device 62 provides audio signals that are played by system60), controller 26 can output or input directly from transceiver 74.Many smartphones also include wireless transmit and receive capabilities(e.g., using WiFi, Bluetooth, radio frequency (RF), and/or infraredwireless communications capabilities). Bi-directional wirelesscommunication between audio system 60 and portable computer device 62can be accomplished by any now-known or later-developed wirelesscommunication technology. The communication can be direct between system60 and device 62, or it can be indirect such as via a local router orthe like, or via the cloud as indicated at 80.

One exemplary, non-limiting process for equalizing audio system 60involves a person moving portable computer device 62 about the room inwhich audio system 60 is located, while system 60 plays a series of testtones that are then received by device microphone 16. Instead of testtones, system 60 can play music or pink noise as the test audio that isthen received by microphone 16. The audio signals for music or pinknoise can in one non-limiting example come from portable computer device62 and be transmitted to audio system 60 via wifi and a local router.The frequency responses corresponding to the received sounds are thencalculated by controller 26 running an appropriate software program ofthe type known in the art for calculating frequency responses, and/orinformation that is based on frequency responses and that can be used byaudio system 60 to achieve a desired frequency response fromloudspeaker(s) 14. Such information that is based on the calculatedfrequency responses can include audio parameters such as filtercoefficients, gains and/or delays that can be used by audio system 60 toproduce properly equalized sound from loudspeaker(s) 14. As analternative to computing the audio parameters by device 62, thecomputation can be done by a remote computing device as indicated bycloud 80. The computed audio parameters, and/or the information that isbased on frequency responses, are then sent to audio system 60 directlyfrom device 62 (via transceiver 74) or indirectly, e.g., via wifi/localrouter or cloud 80. Audio system 60 saves this information in memoryassociated with controller 72. This information is then used by audiosystem 60 to equalize audio it plays via loudspeaker(s) 14.

High quality equalization requires a consistent or known time betweengeneration of the equalization test sound excitation signals by theaudio signal source, and receipt of the resulting test sounds bymicrophone 16. There can be situations in which this timing can beinconsistent. For example, when system 60 and device 62 wirelesslycommunicate via WiFi and a local router there can be unknown radiodelays (e.g., the delay can depend on the state of the network qualityat the moment, and the amount of buffering). Also, the acoustic delaydepends on the distance between audio system 60 and personal computerdevice 62, which is unknown and variable. In such situations thecalculation of audio parameters that are used to equalize audio system60 can be improved by correlating the audio signal source with themicrophone signals so as to determine the time delay, and then takingthe time delay into account when the transfer functions (frequencyresponses) are calculated. Determining a time delay using correlationbetween two series is a technique known in the art. Using the determinedtime delay in the frequency response calculation is also a techniqueknown in the art. Correlation can be accomplished by controller 26. Thecorrelation results can then be used by controller 26 in the calculationof the audio parameters.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second non-limiting example of an audio system 90and a smartphone 100 that can be used in the present disclosure. Somedetails of audio system 90 and smartphone 100 that were disclosedrelative to audio system 60 and portable computer device 62, FIG. 1, arenot discussed in detail relative to FIG. 2, so as to simplify thedrawings and description. Audio system 90 has audio signal source 92,controller 94, loudspeaker(s) 96, transceiver 99 and infrared (IR)receiver 98. In one non-limiting example audio system 90 is astand-alone, portable wireless speaker package such as the Bose®SoundLink®, available from Bose Corporation, Framingham, Mass.Smartphone 100 has digital and/or analog input/output interface 106(e.g., an audio jack and/or a USB port), controller 104, transceiver 108and user interface (UI) 102. One non-limiting example of a smartphonethat can be used is the iPhone®, available from Apple Inc., Cupertino,Calif., loaded with an appropriate software application that is able tocommand the smartphone to achieve the functionality described herein.

Dongle 110 is a separate device that is configured to be functionallycoupled to smartphone 100 via the smartphone input/output 106. Dongleoutput signals that are received by smartphone 100 can be analog ordigital. Non-limiting examples of electrical interconnection of dongle110 and smartphone 100 include analog connection via a plug that fitsinto an analog input jack of smartphone 100, and digital input via adigital connector that fits into a USB port or other digital port ofsmartphone 100. Dongle 110 can have microphone 112 that functions as areceiver of test tones from audio system 90, although if smartphone 100includes a microphone then dongle 110 does not need microphone 112.Dongle 110 includes an IR transmitter 114 that is configured totranslate smartphone output signals into IR signals that arc broadcastinto the room and received by audio system IR receiver 98.Alternatively, or additionally, audio system 90 and smartphone 100 canwirelessly communicate as described above relative to FIG. 1 and asillustrated by transceiver 99, transceiver 108, wireless communication122, and cloud 120. Smartphone output signals that are translated andbroadcast as IR by dongle 110 can include but are not limited to audioparameters or information that can be used to achieve a desiredfrequency response from audio system 90, calculated by smartphone 100 orin the cloud, as described above. Smartphone output signals that aresent as IR signals by dongle 110 can also include audio system controlsignals such as volume control, internet radio station selection oraudio track selection when smartphone 100 is adapted to function as anaudio system remote control and dongle 110 adds to the remote controlfunction an IR transmit function that allows audio system control viaits IR receiver 98.

As part of the communication scheme between audio system 90 andsmartphone 100, audio system 90 can provide to smartphone 100 feedbackconcerning the transmitted IR signals it has received. This is one wayto ensure that the correct information has been transmitted by thesmartphone and received by the audio system. The feedback can in onenon-limiting example be accomplished via loudspeaker 96. For example, aunique tone or series of tones could be played by audio system 90 toindicate receipt of audio parameters from smartphone 100. Or,acknowledgement information could be sent via transceiver 99. In oneexample, the smartphone could continue to transmit calculated audioparameters until their receipt was acknowledged by audio system 90 insome manner.

The systems shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have components and functionalitythat can be used in manners other than as depicted in the drawings. Forexample, the IR communication functionality of FIG. 2 can be used in theFIG. 1 system. Also, smartphone 100, FIG. 2, could be replaced byanother device (whether portable or not) that was adapted to receivetest tones and transmit IR and/or other wireless communications signals.One example of such a device is a second audio system, for example aspeaker package (wireless, or not, and portable, or not) that hasexisting IR transmit capabilities that can be used as IR transmitter 114and an existing microphone that can be used as microphone 112. In thiscase, there would be no need for a dongle since the speaker packageitself would already include all of the functionality of dongle 110.

Embodiments of the systems and methods described above comprise computercomponents and computer-implemented steps that will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. For example, it should be understood by one of skillin the art that the computer-implemented steps may be stored ascomputer-executable instructions on a computer-readable medium such as,for example, floppy disks, hard disks, optical disks, Flash ROMS,nonvolatile ROM, and RAM. Furthermore, it should be understood by one ofskill in the art that the computer-executable instructions may beexecuted on a variety of processors such as, for example,microprocessors, digital signal processors, gate arrays, etc. For easeof exposition, not every step or element of the systems and methodsdescribed above is described herein as part of a computer system, butthose skilled in the art will recognize that each step or element mayhave a corresponding computer system or software component. Suchcomputer system and/or software components are therefore enabled bydescribing their corresponding steps or elements (that is, theirfunctionality), and are within the scope of the disclosure.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that additional modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the inventive concepts described herein,and, accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A dongle that is adapted to be coupled to a portable computer device,where the portable computer device is adapted to communicate with anaudio system, where the audio system is adapted to use a singletransducer to transduce generated audio signals from an audio signalsource into test sounds, the dongle comprising: a microphone adapted todetect test sounds radiated by the single transducer of the audio systemwhen the audio system plays generated audio signals; wherein a timedelay between the generation of the audio signals, and the receipt ofthe test sounds by the microphone, is determined, where the time delayis determined by correlating the generation of the audio signals withthe receipt of the test sounds by the microphone; wherein a frequencyresponse is determined based on both the received test sounds and thedetermined time delay; and an infrared transmitter adapted to transmitinfrared signals to the audio system, where the transmitted infraredsignals convey to the audio system audio parameters that are based onthe determined frequency response.
 2. The dongle of claim 1, where thetransmitted infrared signals further convey audio system control signalsto the audio system.
 3. The dongle of claim 1, further comprising adigital connector that is adapted to be coupled to the portable computerdevice.
 4. The dongle of claim 3, wherein the digital connector is a USBconnector.
 5. The dongle of claim 1, further comprising an analogconnector that is configured to be coupled to the portable computerdevice.
 6. The dongle of claim 5, wherein the analog connector comprisesa plug that is adapted to couple with an analog jack of the portablecomputer device.
 7. The dongle of claim 1, wherein the audio parameterscomprise an equalization pattern that is appropriate to achieve adesired audio system frequency response.
 8. The dongle of claim 1,wherein the audio system comprises a wireless speaker package.
 9. Aprocess for equalizing a first audio system that is adapted to use asingle transducer to transduce generated audio signals into test sounds,the process comprising: capturing with a remote device the test soundsthat were radiated by the single transducer; determining a time delaybetween the generation of the audio signals, and the receipt of the testsounds by the remote device, where the time delay is determined bycorrelating the generation of the audio signals with the receipt of thetest sounds by the remote device; calculating, based on the both thecaptured test sounds and the determined time delay, information that canbe used to achieve a desired frequency response from the first audiosystem; wirelessly transmitting, by an infrared transmitter that isfunctionally associated with the remote device, and as a series ofinfrared signals, the calculated information; receiving, by an infraredreceiver that is functionally associated with the first audio system,the transmitted infrared signals; translating, by the first audiosystem, the received infrared signals into an audio system equalizationpattern that is appropriate to achieve a desired frequency response fromthe first audio system; and saving, in a memory of the first audiosystem, the audio system equalization pattern.
 10. The process of claim9, wherein the information that can be used to achieve a desiredfrequency response from the first audio system is calculated by theremote device.
 11. The process of claim 9, further comprising providingfeedback concerning the transmitted infrared signals, by the audiosystem, via audio played from the loudspeaker.
 12. The process of claim9, wherein the infrared transmitter is part of a dongle that is adaptedto be coupled to the remote device.
 13. The process of claim 12, whereinthe dongle is adapted to be coupled to the remote device via an analogjack of the remote device.
 14. The process of claim 9, wherein theremote device comprises a smartphone.
 15. The process of claim 9,wherein the remote device comprises a second audio system.
 16. Theprocess of claim 15, the first and second audio systems each comprise awireless speaker package.
 17. A method that uses a portable computerdevice that is adapted to communicate with an audio system, where theaudio system is adapted to use a single transducer to transducegenerated audio signals from an audio signal source into test sounds,the method comprising: receiving, by a microphone associated with theportable computer device while the portable computer device is at afirst location in a listening space, test sounds radiated by the singletransducer of the audio system when the audio system plays generatedaudio signals; determining a time delay between the generation of theaudio signals, and the receipt of the test sounds by the microphone,where the time delay is determined by correlating the generation of theaudio signals with the receipt of the test sounds by the microphone;determining, based on both the received test sounds and the determinedtime delay, a frequency response for the first location; andtransmitting to the audio system, based on the determined frequencyresponse, audio parameters that are appropriate to achieve a desiredacoustic profile from the one or more loudspeakers of the audio system.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the audio parameters are calculatedby the portable computer device.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein theaudio parameters are calculated by a remote computing device and thentransmitted to the portable computer device.
 20. The method of claim 17,wherein the audio parameters are calculated using the determined timedelay.
 21. (canceled)
 22. The method of claim 17, wherein thetransmission to the audio system by the portable computer device iswireless.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the wireless transmissionuses infrared signals.